arhome realty blog

Keeping it Personal in a Digital World

how arhome is bringing the personal touch back to a tech-driven industry

2020 has been the year of going virtual, though we've been far from strangers to the digital world for a while now. With technology at the top of our wish lists, and the more cutting-edge the better, we're always looking for ways to streamline and digitize our work. But with that, the real estate industry has seen a side-effect in the streamlining and computerization of something else: personal relationships. 

What do we mean? On the back-end of things, real estate professionals are often impressed with computerized auto-responders to new clients; avoiding making real-life phone calls; believing it's the actual technology that will take them to the next level. But when…

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Housing Market Remains Resilient: Summer 2020

"While the health and economic impact has been significant, the U.S. housing market has remained surprisingly resilient, and consumers continue to view home ownership as the foundation of the American Dream. Home buyers remain steadfast in the main attributes they seek--three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage. However, the quarantine has made people rethink where and why they want a new home," says realtor.com® Senior Economist George Ratiu. 

The market is largely buyer-driven - if there is a demand, properties will sell. If no one wants to buy, the market will be slow. So let's see what current buyers are thinking and doing right now.

Here are the findings of the most recent, post-covid survey from realtor.com®.

How do buyers feel about…

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Why the Right Listing Company Matters

Did you know? According to the most recent National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers study, Realtor®-listed homes have sold on average for 40% more money than For Sale By Owner homes.

How you go about selling your property can really impact how much money ends up in your pocket when all is said and done. Things like marketing price, time on the market, and staging can have a tremendous effect on how much you sell your property for.

For example: if you were to market your home at a too high price, you will likely not see a lot of activity because surrounding homes at similar price points will have better features and options. This will cause market time to run on the clock, and precious sale time to slip away. In the…

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5 Ways to Make Your Home Stand Out

In other words: How to get a higher price for your home. It's true - if your home stands out (in a good way), it attracts more buyers, gets more traffic, and that typically results in more interest, more offers and a higher end sale. It's important to make sure your home is truly ready for a home sale, to make the most of its market debut and get more buyers to fall in love with it. And while we generally don't recommend any major projects (exceptions abide - ask an arhome agent for the most profitable approach), the good news is there's a lot that you can control when it comes to making your home above-average. 

1. Maximize Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is one of those obvious checklist items that somehow gets overlooked in the end. Of course, it's…

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Mortgage Rates Drop Below 3%

The average rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans hit record lows this week. Mortgage News Daily reports that the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan is just barely above 3%; for FHA loans, its dropped all the way to 2.75%.

That’s lower than we’ve seen in many, many years.

Why are rates dropping so low?

Of course, we know the COVID-19 pandemic is involved. But according to Fed chairman Jerome Powell, this has hit the economy in ways that are worse than any typical recession. Powell stated recently: ”The scope and speed of this downturn are without modern precedent and are significantly worse than any recession since World War II.” That’s powerful.

With predictions that our economy may not recover until the end of next year, the…

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Chicago Spring Market Update

Ever since COVID-19 news hit the world, the real estate market met a significant crossroads: many people were questioning if it was a good time to sell, for safety, and what would happen to our still-strong prices. Data now backs up that we did, in fact, see a halt in the market. Especially towards the end of March, there was a drastic drop in newly listed properties - less than half of the amount listed that week last year (keep in mind, before the pandemic hit, 2020 numbers were exceeding 2019 numbers). So yes, the response was strong.

There is still good news in all of this: first off, our data shows that as of May 4, 2020, median sales prices are still higher than 2019, and haven't seen any huge shifts aside from a small dip 2 weeks ago (see…

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How We Keep Moving

In the midst of the current world situation and now the extended Illinois' stay-at-home order, we want to share with you how we're continuing to serve our agents and clients. You are not alone - we have your back now more than ever.

1) We qualify as an essential business, so we're open for anthing you need. Our admin staff is present for real-person phone conversations, transaction handling and processing deposits and closing funds. Agents are working remotely unless an essential in-person exchange is required. We're making sure you successfully make it from listing to closing while adjusting to the new normal.

2.) We're fully digital. From home evaluations to showings, documents and meetings, we can take care of it all online. All our weekly…

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COVID-19: Should I Buy or Sell?

For those who need to buy or sell real estate during COVID-19, this question might be haunting you. For those who don’t, you might be wondering if there’s something to be gained (or avoided in the future) by acting now. Although “uncertainty” has been the most popular word in this season, we put together a 4 step guide to help you weigh your options.

1.) Price

Weekly market data is showing price drops that could be related to the pandemic. The first half of March showed year-over-year price growth; the second half did too, but much slower. This could be an early market response, but if it continues, we might see further price drops in April. How much? What we know is that normally, March/April is by far the busiest season in the real estate…

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Real Estate & Reasons to Stay Positive

As the world is feeling the COVID-19 impact, it seems no industry is immune. Real Estate, above anything, is getting hit with the "worry" impact more than a physical industry disruption. Buyers nervous about job security are nervous about future mortgage payments. Sellers are nervous to let viewers inside their homes. Investors are nervous about future property values. Nervous, nervous, nervous.

But for those in search of the silver lining during these trying times, here's some good news: despite the Illinois mandatory shut down, the real estate industry is keeping up at a steady pace so far — and we have facts to prove it. For all those who need some industry encouragement, we've put together a list of positive local real estate news for our…

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Welcome to arhome realty.

Welcome to arhome. We can't wait to show you around.

American Realty & Associates, Inc. is now arhome realty. We are the same, longstanding company that has been your local resource for over 20 years - just with a new, fresh name.

The new name "arhome" has a special place in both our past and our future. The letters "ar" represent our legacy name, "American Realty" - keeping it alive. At the same time, we like to pronounce "arhome" like you'd say "our home" - because truly, we want everyone who works here, walks in here, or does business with us to feel like they are at home. "arhome" is your home, and we want to take care of your home like you're family.

We are ready to move into the future of real estate, with all the technology and…

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